Visit Germany’s Documenta Art Fair

Every five years artists and art lovers descend upon Kassel, Germany for Documenta, an exhibition of contemporary art. The art fair began in 1955 as a means to bring art to Germany and the German people to move beyond the Nazi regime and its oppressive hold from which the country was rebounding. At the time of its inception, Documenta was presented as part of the Federal Horticulture Show or Bundesgartenschau, but it has long outlasted that show.

100 Days

Referred to as the Museum of 100 Days, Documenta earned that name as an exhibition that only lasts 100 days. The timing of the event that takes place every five years is usually independent. In 2017, however, Documenta’s exhibition ran simultaneously with the other major art world events: Venice Biennale, Skulptur Projekte Münster, and Art Basel.

Museum Fridericianum

While the bulk of the exhibitions exhibits are located at its long-standing locale, Museum Fridericianum, much like Art Basel, some pieces of art are spread around the city. In 1992 Documenta-Halle was built and is home to some of the exhibitions, and other venues have included the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof, the Neue Galerie, the Wilhelmshöhe Castle park, the Karlsaue park, and the Ottoneum. But, beyond Kassel, the locations for the Documenta exhibits have spread to locations like Banff, Canada, and Kabul, Afghanistan.

Permanence

Since the exhibit only lasts 100 days, the majority of the works of art are not on permanent exhibit at Fridericianum.  Through the years, however, several pieces have become permanent installations. The permanent pieces are available even if you don’t make it to Documenta before it closes.  These include the following: Laserscape Kassel (1977) by Horst H. Baumann; Rahmenbau (1977) by Haus-Rucker-Co; 7000 Eichen by Joseph Beuys; Traumschiff Tante Olga (1977) by Anatol Herzfeld; Man walking to the sky (1992) by Jonathan Borofsky; Vertikaler Erdkilometer by Walter De Maria; Spitzhacke (1982) by Claes Oldenburg; and Fremde by Thomas Schütte (one part of the sculpture is on Rotes Palais at Friedrichsplatz, the other on the roof of the Concert Hall in Lübeck).

For the Love of Art

The event started small and took almost forty years to gain a substantial following, breaking the 500,000 visitor mark in 1992 for Documenta IX. That number keeps growing, too, in 2002 more than 650,000 visitors filled Kassel, a city with a population of only about 200,000. The exhibit’s population continued to grow from there, to 754,000 visitors in 2007 and 904,992 visitors in 2012. Many of these visitors come from all over the world, but a great number are from neighboring countries including Austria, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

Are you ready to pack your bags and immerse yourself in some of the world’s most amazing contemporary art at Documenta? If not, you may want to at least sign up for the newsletter, but if you’re going, please share your experience with us.